Safety escape bag

ABSTRACT

A safety escape chute having a series of pliant tubular columns connected by resilient portions made of spiral mesh so that when a first escaper is in the chute his weight so deforms the spiral mesh resilient portions downwardly that a second escaper cannot pass therethrough and thus cannot collide with the first escaper at the bottom of the chute.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Masatada Yamamoto No. 2 KoujimachiBuilding 4-2, Koujimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan [21] Appl. No.848,523

[22] Filed Aug. 8, 1969 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [54] SAFETY ESCAPEBAG 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Field of Search 182/48 A62b l/20 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 391,051 10/1888 Jones 193/25 906,412 12/1908 Griffin 193/253,348,630 10/1967 Yamamoto 182/48 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. MachadoAttorney-Browdy & Neimark ABSTRACT: A safety escape chute having aseries of pliant tubular columns connected by resilient portions made ofspiral mesh so that when a first escaper is in the chute his weight sodefonns the spiral mesh resilient portions downwardly that a secondescaper cannot pass therethrough and thus cannot collide with the firstescaper at the bottom of the chute.

PATENTEU HAY25 IHTI FIG.3

FIG-.1

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS SAFETY ESCAPE BAG This invention relates to a safetyescape bag used for refugees when the building is on fire.

The main object of the invention is to provide a safety escape bagcharacterized by the functions that any collision is surely preventedbetween refugees who are falling or descending in confusion through-theextended bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety bag characterizedby the function that any refugee will be forcibly and automaticallychecked for a while in the bag when the forerunner is still descending.

Now, with these and other features of the invention, furtherdescriptions will be set forth substantially below in the illustrations,drawings and appended claims:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety escape bag installed over thebuilding, carrying out an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the bag showing a novel function thereof.

FIG. 3 another enlargement of the bag showing the same function thereofin detail.

Referring to' FIG. 1, a slender, cylindrically formed, safety escape bag2 is hanging over the building 1 vertically with the entrance or way insuitably installed on the uppermost window. The lowermost portion 3 ofthe bag 2 is formed with a closed flat bottom 4 which surely serves toprevent any fallingdown refugee from being directly crashed against theground.

Also, the cylindrical bag is adapted to have a diameter to slide downthe refugees narrowly, and being made of tough cloth, to slow down thefalling speed of the refugees slightly by friction thereof. Saidlowermost portion 3 of the bag 2 is mounted on the cylindrical side withexits 5, 5' which enable the refugees to get off the closed flat bottom4. Said cylindrical bag 2 has one or more than two collision-checking or-stopping means 6 which form one of the major novelties of theinvention. As clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 together with FIG. 1, thetempo rary stopping means 6, in each, consists of a short cylindricalbody of spiral mesh, just like that of fishnet, quite different fromwhat is called cloth substance, to be positioned suitably to make one ofthe compartments of said bag. As the upper and lower dually threaded-outrims 7, 8 of the mesh stopping means are loaded with considerably strongand heavy weights of the refugees, the rim portions may be connected bymeans of bonding cements or reinforced by special mounting patches.

Thus, in actual operations, when the refugees go down through saidsafety escape bag 2, being made of cloth with the narrow diameter,causes the friction against the falling-down refugees, whereby theirown-weights falling actions will be decreased in speed, to enable themto reach the bottom 4 at a safely reserved speed. Further, when theinitial refugee passes down through said temporary stopping means ofspiral mesh, he will be considerably checked in speed to continue tofall down safely until he reaches weighing said bottom 4 to urge saidcylindrical bag 2 to extend itself downward, as shown by dotted lines inFIG. 1, because the bag is suspended over the building. Then, the slightextension of said cylindrical escape bag 2 decreases the diameter R toR1, to such an extent that the following refugee will be checked downtemporarily by the stopping means 6 while the initial is still on saidflat bottom before he is freed to fall down again as soon as the initialor forerunner gets off out of the optional exit of the lowermost portionthereof, to make the extended bag lose the loading pull therefrom.

As described above, this safety escape bag according to an embodiment ofthe invention is characterized in that any refugee who is confused tojump into the bag, is surely checked halfway by one of said temporarystopping means 6 from the forerunner to be safely protected against anypossible collision from behind; in that said cylindrical spiral meshmeans 6 is quite low in production cost as said fishnet like materialsmay be employed for; and in that any multiple application of saidcollision-stoppin means 6' with a regular interval, will assure moresafety lan ings for the refugees without regard to said diameter R orR1.

In the drawings and specifications, 1 have set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although special expressions or termsare employed for the embodiment, they are only used therefor in anillustrative or descriptive sense, and not for the purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the appendedclaim.

lclaim:

1. An escape device comprising an elongated tubular body adapted to besupported at its one end in a position to extend vertically downwardlyand including an opening at its upper end for receiving an escaper, aclosed flat bottom at its lower end for catching thereon the escaper whohas fallen through the body and an opening provided laterally to thewall of said elongated tubular body adjacent to its lower end for theescaper to exit from the body, and means to prevent the fall throughsaid tubular body of a second escaper while a first escaper is in saidescape device,

said tubular body comprising a series of pliant tubular columns havingdiameters sufficient for allowing an escapr to pass through andconnected by resilient portions made of spiral meshes, said resilientportions comprising said means to prevent the fall of a second escaper,each said resilient portion having a diameter smaller than those of thetubular columns and being radially expandable to such an extent that thefree fall and downward speed of an escaper are resisted and reduced,each said resilient portion being longitudinally expandable to such anextent that it can completely prevent the fall of the second escapertherethrough when the first escaper has been caught on the closed flatbottom and his weight is added to the device, thereby preventing twoescapers from colliding each other at the lower end of the device.

1. An escape device comprising an elongated tubular body adapted to besupported at its one end in a position to extend vertically downwardlyand including an opening at its upper end for receiving an escaper, aclosed flat bottom at its lower end for catching thereon the escaper whohas fallen through the body and an opening provided laterally to thewall of said elongated tubular body adjacent to its lower end for theescaper to exit from the body, and means to prevent the fall throughsaid tubular body of a second escaper while a first escaper is in saidescape device, said tubular body comprising a series of pliant tubularcolumns having diameters sufficient for allowing an escapr to passthrough and connected by resilient portions made of spiral meshes, saidresilient portions comprising said means to prevent the fall of a secondescaper, each said resilient portion having a diameter smaller thanthose of the tubular columns and being radially expandable to such anextent that the free fall and downward speed of an escaper are resistedand reduced, each said resilient portion being longitudinally expandableto such an extent that it can completely prevent the fall of the secondescaper therethrough when the first escaper has been caught on theclosed flat bottom and his weight is added to the device, therebypreventing two escapers from colliding each other at the lower end ofthe device.